Handling of Somali irks GOP senator

Terror suspect to be tried in N.Y.

WASHINGTON - The Senate Republican leader on Wednesday accused the Obama administration of undermining U.S. national security by bringing a Somali man facing terrorism charges to New York for trial.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., assailed the administration's decision, arguing that the Somali citizen - Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame - belongs at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he could be tried by a military tribunal.

"The administration has purposefully imported a terrorist into the U.S. and is providing him all the rights of U.S. citizens in court," McConnell said. "This ideological rigidity being displayed by the administration is harming the national security of the United States of America."

Senior administration officials said Tuesday that the military captured Warsame on April 19 and then put him aboard a Navy warship, where he was interrogated at sea by intelligence officials. Under interrogation, Warsame gave up what officials called important intelligence about al-Qaida in Yemen and its relationship with al-Shabab militants in Somalia. The two groups have been known to have ties, but the extent of that relationship is unclear.

After the interrogation was complete, the FBI stepped in and began the interrogation from scratch, in a way that could be used in court. After the FBI read Warsame his Miranda rights - the right to remain silent and speak with an attorney - he opted to keep talking for days, helping the government build its case.

A senior administration official defended the decision, saying the Defense Department and intelligence officials agreed with other members of the national-security team that Warsame should be prosecuted in civilian courts.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing.